Thursday, 28 November 2013

This week the 80s kids(tm) gleefully tackle their childhood cartoon memories and the many, many toys that came with them. From the MEGA sized toy financed American imports to the Epic sprawling French serials and also the wit and charm of the UK based Cosgrove Hall. Our decade themed trio finally have a subject they can all speak about with authority.

Justin (Batteries not Included) born an Artist, fondly remembers the visually stunning 'Thundercats' intro sequence and lovingly building his own 'Danger Mouse' Flying Car. Leo (Sold Separately) born a Story Teller, has a special place in his heart for the friendships forged over shared viewings of 'Dungeons and Dragons' or the imaginative hours lost playing with 'MASK' or 'GI Joe' toys with his pals. Ian (Choking Hazard) born Yesterday, recalls his never ending demands for more and more toys to fill his empty consumer heart and the various childhood traumas that came from seeing Optimus Prime slowly dying from internal injuries.

But only by combining together to form the gestalt “Eighties Kids-a-Tron” (Product may vary from Box Picture) can they hope to tackle 'He-Man' the most Fabulous man in the Universe and his indomitable toy range of lame associates. This is the 'Revenge of the 80's Kids: Eighties Cartoon Episode' and all the cool kids have one!

Saturday, 23 November 2013

The 80s Kids sit down for a quick post 'Day of the Doctor' chat. Topics are rambling and many, from the shopping list requirements Moffat needed for the “Event”, John Hurt's sympathetic Non Doctor, the through line of the Doctor's character all the way from 1963 to the present, to regeneration limits, the vast unexplored future the series has laid out before us and much more.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

The 80s kids finally arrive in the year 1985! However after only a brief look at the massive list of films to cover they give up on the project almost immediately. Instead they gather up only 10 of the most memorable starting with probably 85's most identifiable screen offering, “Back to the Future”. Digestion begins.

Spielberg's long shadow is felt throughout, from the Goonies to Young Sherlock Holmes and Weird Science. It's the age of the young person having an amazing adventure, with thrills and laughs along the way. Unless your name happens to be Dorothy Gale, in which case things are looking very grim indeed.

Leo continues to follow Schwarzenegger's offerings with delight and glee while Ian recoils in nausea and exasperation at Roger Moore's now rather flaccid 007. Justin cheers him up with diversions in 85's more artistic film offerings with the visually stunning Brazil and Legend.

As usual Leo unleashes the Zombies to the indifference of some. On the subject of rising unexpectedly from the dead … Paul McGann returns to our screens as the Titular Time Lord for the first time in 17 years! As before his Dr Who vehicle crashes and burns, this time with startlingly different results. The 80s Kids muse on the implications in a nice chat at the end.

Thursday, 14 November 2013

This week Ian traps his fellow 80s kids in the labyrinthine maze of a Dr Who Quiz. There he assails Leo and Justin with teasing multiple choice questions. Their only respite in this humiliation are Dr Who related discussions ranging from childhood memories, the series' death in the 80s and it's barn storming rebirth in 2005, with Paul McGann's American TV movie falling somewhere in-between.

Despite the lucid and often insightful nature of Leo and Justin's reflections on all things Who, Ian totally undercuts their punditry by stumping them with questions the majority of 'real fans' would find trivially easy. But aren't the opinions of laymen viewers more insightful and balanced than the hard core obsessives? What qualities must New Who strive to retain if it hopes to keep broadening it's audience for another 50 years?

Who cares!? It's the one and only Dr Who edition of the 80s Kids!!! So get your sonic's ready, adjust your scarves and bow ties and prepare to have your nostalgia regenerated as we wander through the space and times of Dr Who. Leo deduces his answers, Justin takes a wild stab while Ian writes a wall of text rebuttal on a forum somewhere deep in the internet.

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Only Leo and Ian this week but they have BIG problems with BIG cinema. Discussions drift from the unloved Ender's Game adaptation to the lack of thought provoking films these days. But aren't we getting the cinema we deserve?

Between the internet's never-ending desire to see the world burn and the current "golden age of television" the big screen is being squeezed. Too big to fail they're playing to the lowest common denominator for as many humans on seats as possible. Spectacle and lots of explosions is something TV can't do, so it isn't surprising film production leans that way.

High budget, thought provoking films have been made and died unseen, worse, they died with hails of vitriol from the internet. But how is any of that the film maker's fault? With our dollars and pounds we've shaped the market we have now and show little sign of changing our habits. Leo has a lot to say, Ian just wants chicken.